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Introduction to Steroids
Doping in sports is front page news. "Designer steroids" like THG are rocking the sports world. Coincidentally, anabolic steroid seizures and arrests are up. Way up. But who's being arrested for anabolic steroids? Not competitive athletes, that's for sure. Seriously, when's the last time you heard about an Olympic athlete or football star being prosecuted for steroids? Oh, they're testing positive for steroids, but their punishment is only by being banned from play. How about steroid dealers; are they being arrested? No, for the most part, they avoid detection. Anyway, the DEA has marginal interest in the aggressive pursuit of steroid trafficking, with federal prosecutions few and far between.
The startling truth is that the people getting busted today for anabolic steroids are your friends and neighbors. They are otherwise law-abiding mature adults who are using steroids for personal cosmetic improvement. I've been contacted, consulted or retained by literally hundreds of these individuals, many of whom are caught when their steroids are intercepted in the mail by U.S. Customs or Postal Inspectors. Overwhelmingly, they're neither teenagers nor competitive athletes -- the two populations the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 was intended to target. Nevertheless, American law enforcement authorities are pursuing these folks with enhanced vigor. I have seen people arrested for selling just one vial of steroids to a former training partner turned police informer, and for possessing just 15 stanozolol tablets and a near-empty bottle of testsoterone. And the net is widening. Other substances of interest to some bodybuilders, such as 1,4-butanediol, are now being targeted in extensive federal investigations. And if any of the pending anti-steroid Congressional bills pass, we'll see a whole new battleground in the expanding War on Drugs.
My message for bodybuilders visiting this site is simple: Whether you are merely curious about anabolics or you are presently using and/or selling them, I invite you to carefully consider the material presented here. My aim is not to judge you, but to help you to become more informed about the matrix of issues surrounding anabolic steroids. Perhaps you will choose to stay natural or become "drug-free" (always the safest bet, medically and legally!). If not, at least you'll have some clue as to the legal risks you're facing and what to do if you find yourself in the unfortunate and serious situation of an investigation or arrest. Obviously, the best time to read the "Arrested for Steroids?" section is before you are arrested. If you want more detailed and comprehensive information, you need LEGAL MUSCLE -- the ultimate legal resource on steroids and the law. You can learn more about LEGAL MUSCLE at www.legalmusclebooks.com.
Regarding my own background, I received a Bachelor's degree in psychology in 1981. I attended law school on a full academic scholarship and served on the Law Review. Serving as a criminal prosecutor in New York from 1984 to 1989, I put many violent predators and drug felons behind bars. Since then I have diligently defended the rights of Americans accused of activities classified as illegal, which in New York state and U.S. federal courts includes the possession and sale of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and certain other ergogenic aids. I have been retained or consulted by over 1,000 individuals and business entities with steroid-related legal questions and problems. I'm often consulted by lawyers across the country to assist in steroid cases, and have written extensively on the topic in legal publications. My brand new book, LEGAL MUSCLE, is considered the definitive resource on the subject. My law firm, Collins, McDonald and Gann, P.C., is a firm (highest ratings by Martindale-Hubbell) with partners admitted to practice in the New York and Maryland state courts, the Federal Courts of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Services and the United States Supreme Court. An officer, director or active member in numerous criminal bar associations, I frequently lecture on criminal defense to groups of other attorneys. I am General Counsel for the United Supplement Freedom Association, Inc. (USFA), a coalition dedicated to the preservation of over-the-counter dietary supplements for mature adults, including prohormones like DHEA. The alarming legislation to stamp out over-the-counter prohormone freedoms is detailed in a new addition to the "Articles" section of this site. Health enthusiasts' efforts to block this bill are presented on the USFA web site at www.usfa.biz.
I'm also a former competitive bodybuilder and certified personal trainer with over twenty years of lifting experience. I recently (October 2003) benched 225 lbs. for 32 reps (best all-time bench: 405 for 5 reps). For further information concerning my partners and I, including samples of the many cases we have defended, please visit (and bookmark) my law firm's web site at http://www.cmgesq.com/. If you know someone seeking legal information, feel free to tell him or her about our web site. We can be reached at 516-294-0300 for those in need of legal help.
COPYRIGHT (c) 1999-2003 by Rick Collins. www.steroidlaw.com All rights reserved. No commercial reproduction of any portion of this material is permitted without the express written permission of the author.
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2002 Collins, McDonald and Gann, P.C.. All Rights Reserved. Please read the Disclaimer.